Page 168 – NYFA

President Michael Young of New York Film Academy Visits Several Universities in China

This October, President of the New York Film Academy Michael Young made a trip to China, visiting several of the nation’s educational institutions and attending several prestigious conferences and ceremonies.

The first stop of this trip was Xi’an Peihua University, a private institution over 100 years old with more than 25,000 current students. President Young delivered a captivating speech at the grand welcoming ceremony held by the school, where he met over 500 students and expressed his enthusiasm for Peihua’s internationalization efforts. He also encouraged students to focus on specializing their abilities to better achieve their ambitions.

After his speech, New York Film Academy and Peihua University officially signed the Cooperation Agreement, which includes cooperative programs such as the “1+3” Undergraduate and Graduate Program and the Study Abroad Program, among others. President Young was also inducted as an Honorable President of Peihua University, the first time since Peihua University’s founding that such a prestigious title has been conferred to a foreign educator.

President Young next visited Shanghai Theatre Academy Lianhua Campus, where students who benefit from the “1+3” program by New York Film Academy and Shanghai Theatre Academy currently study. He talked to the school’s top professors, asking detailed questions about the students’ current learning environment and also patiently answering any questions himself.

President Young encouraged the “1+3” students to take every advantage of the professional education that Shanghai Theatre Academy provides, and stressed the importance of mastering the English language to best prepare for their upcoming three-year study at New York Film Academy.

Traveling to Hangzhou, President Young visited the uniquely designed art building and facilities of Wankun Arts High School. The New York Film Academy signed a cooperation agreement with Wankun Arts High School to co-found the Student Resource base, which will help Wankun Arts graduates transition to NYFA’s undergraduate program. President Young also talked about potentially co-founding Arts School with the board from Wankun Arts High School.

Afterwards, President Young attended an event held by FlyCo Star Pictures Co. Ltd. By signing the Strategic Cooperation Agreement with FlyCo Star Pictures Co. Ltd., President Young and the New York Film Academy will help cultivate young and talented filmmakers to become leading figures in the film industry. With three NYFA graduates currently working at FlyCo Star Pictures Co. Ltd., President Young expressed his appreciation, while FlyCo Star praised the alumni’s contribution to the company.

Later that afternoon, President Young toured one of the leading media and communication institutions in China, Zhejiang University of Media and Communications (ZJUMC), where currently over 100,000 students are attending. He congratulated Huace Film Academy on its founding, and shared his enthusiastic confidence in the newfound cooperation between NYFA and ZJUMC.

President Young also elaborated on this future cooperation, which will include detailed programs such as the accelerated degree and short-term study abroad programs, as well as further involving the NYFA 4-week workshop programs with ZJUMC’s traditional courses.

In addition to New York Film Academy’s educational commitment within China’s borders, President Young also shared exciting news about upcoming events at the New York Film Academy’s renowned New York campus. During the visit to Shanghai, one of the most vital discussions concerned Shanghai Film Week. The conference between NYFA, Shanghai’s Municipal Government, and Shanghai Film Art Academy came to an agreement, and NYFA will proudly co-host Shanghai Film Week in January 2018.

Hire Heroes USA and NYFA Collaborate to Support Veterans Employment

On October 21, New York Film Academy (NYFA) held a special day-long professional development workshop with Hire Heroes USA, an event open to New York City’s diverse array of veterans seeking careers in film, television, and broadcast journalism. This training session follows a very successful NYFA Hire Heroes USA event that was held at NYFA’s Los Angeles campus.

Hire Heroes USA is a highly successful nonprofit organization that provides free career coaching and job sourcing to transitioning U.S. military members, veterans and military spouses. To date, Hire Heroes USA has found more than 20,000 jobs for veterans.

Together with NYFA, the organization tailored the day’s instruction and training uniquely for the media and entertainment industries. The training also included a panel of industry professionals with a plethora of experience in major motion picture production, start-up production company management, entertainment law, pitching and network building.

Veteran participants with Colonel Jack Jacobs at the NYFA NYC Hire Heroes USA training.

“The men and women who make up the United States Armed Forces are some of the world’s most highly trained professionals. But when service members transition out of the military one of the most common questions they ask me is, ‘Which of my skills from service are transferable to a civilian career?’” stated NYFA Veterans Services Coordinator Chris Paparis, one of the workshop’s principle organizers. He continued, “In many cases, veterans discount how much their service in the military has already prepared them for careers in the entertainment industry.”

NYFA’s Chair of Veteran Services Colonel Jack Jacobs (Ret.) provided insight into his own career in television as the on-air military strategist at NBC/MSNBC, which he began after a successful venture in the finance industry. Colonel Jacobs is an advocate for all veterans seeking to break into the film and television industry. He readily advises students on their career paths, and even has NYFA veteran students visit the NBC Studios in NYC for a behind-the-scenes experience.

Attendees worked through a busy lunch hour, which included the opportunity to have professional headshots taken by NYFA staff photographers to accompany the LinkedIn skill-building portion of the seminar.

Gileon Clarke, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and graduate of NYFA 1-Year Acting Conservatory, noted that the class “focused on modern concepts … we learned how to use LinkedIn to build our personal brand, and [how] these new ideas can really help build one’s network and overall impact in the job market.”

NYFA greatly appreciates the partnership with Hire Heroes USA, and especially wants to thank Elena Comperatore, Jamie Rimphanli, and Molly Giles, who provided the accompanying lectures to the event and provided the skills training.

NYFA Screenwriting Alumna Devashree Shivadekar Shines With India’s Stars

New York Film Academy Screenwriting alumna Devashree Shivadekar has been a busy woman since she left NYFA’s hallowed halls. Her most recent success comes in the form of a script which she co-wrote with director Tejas Prabha Vijay Deoskar for a project which stars India’s biggest dancing sensation, Madhuri Dixit-Nene.

Shivadekar spoke with NYFA correspondent Joelle Smith about the stories she hopes to tell and what she believes audiences will take from her latest film.

NYFA: When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Shivadekar: I knew I wanted to be a writer at the age of eight or nine while watching my first film in the theater, “Jurassic Park.” Of course, I didn’t know what went into making a film, or what a “script” was, but I knew I wanted to make others feel the way those characters (granted they were dinosaurs) made me feel — giddy with joy, excitement, fun, and fear.

NYFA: Why was NYFA the right school for you to further your craft?

Shivadekar: NYFA was the only school that had the perfect combination of film and television writing that also included a hands-on approach. Out of a select few schools that I applied to, this was an institute that felt welcoming to immigrants and foreign students.

NYFA: What class was your favorite and why?

Shivadekar: All the workshop classes were my favorite. Ripping into each other’s scripts — now why wouldn’t that be fun? But these classes taught me to not only give constructive feedback but also to accept, embrace and incorporate others’ criticism of your work into your writing — while not pulling your hair out.

NYFA: How did you change as a writer once you finished the program?

Shivadekar: Being a writing student and a writer are two polar opposite things. Once I finished school, it was a whole new ball game. Learning things the hard way was the only (and the best) option for me. I was lucky enough to get an internship at NBC Universal while I was doing my MFA, but “working in the industry” and “working in the industry as a writer” are very different. It took some time (a lot of time) but it was all worth it. The most important thing was to keep writing and churning out script after script like a thought factory.

NYFA: What kind of stories are most important for you to tell?

Shivadekar: A good story isn’t necessarily the one that makes you think of going to the theatre, it’s a story that makes you think when you come out of it. If it makes you think after watching it, then I’ve succeeded as a storyteller.

NYFA: How did Madhuri Dixit become involved in your latest film?

Shivadekar: Madhuri Dixit is the biggest star in India. I never thought she would be within my creative reach. But we had such a strong faith in our story that we took a risk and decided to pitch it to her. One thing led to another and the next thing we know, we are having coffee at her mansion in Mumbai and discussing the script. She’s the Meryl Streep of India — not just a talented actor but also an immensely loved individual. It was truly an honor to have her bring our script to life.

NYFA: Are there any nerves going into production? How are you managing those feelings?

Shivadekar: It’s the “good” kind of nerves. This is the feeling every storyteller craves; the anticipation of going to the set and excitedly waiting for your words to translate onto the big screen.

NYFA: What was it like working with your writing partner on this film?

Shivadekar: Effortless. It was like yin and yang, fire and water, north pole-south pole, two sides of the same coin … Alright, I’m out of metaphors. But you get the point. At times, we were one mind and other times we were like one entity with dual personalities. But the end result was creative magic.

NYFA: How do you hope audiences will react to this film?

Shivadekar: I hope everyone watching the film would see themselves in our characters. I hope it inspires them, motivates them and makes them think about their lives (to better them in the best way possible).

NYFA: Are there any other films in the works that you can tell us about?

Shivadekar: There are a couple of exciting projects in the pipeline, but we’ll know more as time progresses.

The New York Film Academy would like to thank Devashree Shivadekar for taking the time to speak with us. We look forward to her next project.

New York Film Academy Gold Coast Celebrates Halloween

Staff and students from the New York Film Academy Gold Coast joined together for a friendly celebration of Halloween at the Southport campus location this October.

Embracing the infamously spooky American holiday, the international community of NYFA Australia dressed up in their scary costumes and relaxed in the theatre during their lunch break, enjoying classic horror movie clips, a costume contest, and creative fun.

It was a memorable event, allowing many students and staff to explore a side of the holiday they had never before experienced. International September Filmmaking student Daniel Lama shared, “I’ve never seen a Halloween like this in my life. It was awesome.”

Students were captivated by the montage of horror movies that were playing on the big screen, which showcased some of the best scenes from horror movie classics from 1985 to the present.

Staff and students also had fun posing at the Halloween-themed photo booth in their costumes, as a part of the campus-wide costume competition. Contestants were fierce and the judges had their work cut out for them, and in the end it was announced that Jessica Martens, who dressed as the Headless Horseman, was the winner. She won tickets to “Blade Runner 2049.”

July Filmmaking student Jessica Seeley said of the event, “It was a fantastic Halloween celebration at NYFA Australia. It was great to see the students and faculty all get involved and dress up.”

NYFA Filmmaking Grad Allan Ungar To Direct Upcoming Thriller “Decoy”

NYFA filmmaking alumnus Allan Ungar will direct feature thriller “Decoy,” blazing his path in the action film genre. “Decoy” follows the success of Ungar’s film “Gridlocked,” which has found distribution with digital giant Netflix.

“Decoy” has already gained buzz in the Hollywood Reporter. Heavy hitters including actors Andy Garcia, Frank Grillo and Tyler Posey and producers Andrew Gunn, Michael Bien, Henry Less, Sissy Federer, Tom North, Tannaz Anisi and Greg Schenz are already attached to the action project.

The NYFA Blog had a chance to catch up with Allan to hear more about “Decoy” and life in the director’s chair.

NYFA: First, can you tell us a bit about your journey and what brought you to NYFA?

AU: When I was in my early teens I was looking for a film school that was intensive through its education, but that would also allow me to have a hands-on experience. When I found out NYFA had a location in LA, I immediately knew that I had to go.

NYFA: Do you have a favorite NYFA moment from your time studying with us?

AU: My favorite NYFA moment was walking onto the Universal backlot for the first time and getting to direct a short film on the standing set from the original “Jurassic Park.”

NYFA: What was the inspiration behind your upcoming feature “Decoy,” and how did this project come about?

AU: “Decoy” was a script that my manager sent me two years ago, and I remember not being able to read it the night I received it due to a dinner meeting. The person I was seeing happened to be running late, so I began reading the script on my phone. Next thing I knew, I finished the script and hadn’t realized I was there for over an hour! The person never showed up either!

NYFA: Can you tell us about your experience shopping “Decoy” to backers at TIFF? What was that process like, and did anything surprise you while there?

AU: The reception at TIFF was extremely positive and welcoming, although I left most of the business to my producers.

NYFA: When pulling together a major feature like “Decoy,” do you have any personal rituals or advice you follow to help you with the process that you can share with our students?

AU: I try to read the script and work with the actors as much as possible beforehand. By breaking down the story and characters in depth, I find that it better prepares me for any changes or curveballs that are headed my way.

I also like to watch films with similar tones and visual styles as a way to get into the world of the film. Pre-production is where the film lives or dies, so it’s always crucial to utilize whatever time you have to communicate your vision to the department heads and actors.

NYFA: ou met your “Gridlocked” collaborator Rob Robol while still studying at NYFA. Has the NYFA community played any part in “Decoy”? If so, how?

AU: NYFA has played a large role in where I am now, and while there are no direct relationships being used on this film, I would say that the school enabled me to grow as a filmmaker and learn how to foster relationships as a whole.

NYFA: What has been your greatest lesson in helming major feature film projects?

AU: My biggest takeway would be that it doesn’t matter how many times you do it, you will always encounter the unexpected and continue to learn more about yourself and the process each time. I try to remember that it’s also okay to be nervous, so as long as you are as prepared as possible and know the material inside and out.

NYFA: If you could next do a movie in a completely different genre besides action films, what would it be and why?

AU: I’d love to tackle a drama; something that’s more intimate and all about the actors. I feel like because it would be something outside my wheelhouse it would be a good challenge.

NYFA: Can you tell us about any other projects you are working on?

AU: I’m looking at a couple projects for later but nothing I can speak about yet.

The New York Film Academy would like to thank Allan Ungar for sharing some of his story with our community.

NYFA Los Angeles Welcomes Producer David Gale to Q&A Series

This October, David Gale came to the Los Angeles campus of the New York Film Academy. Director of Q&A Series Tova Laiter hosted the evening alongside Veteran Coordinator Steven Padilla.

Gale began his illustrious career in entertainment as a lawyer, but wanted to make movies. Without any experience, he had to settle for working at ICM as an Entertainment Lawyer.

For 10 years he held this position until his firm began working with Ridley Scott’s production company. The two liked working together, and Scott offered Gale a job. It was not glamorous work, but Gale kept his nose to the grindstone and, just when he thought it wouldn’t work out, a friend phoned to tell him that Gale Anne Hurd, the producer of “The Terminator” and more recently “The Walking Dead,” was looking for someone to run her company.

“I did that job for the next four years,” Mr. Gale said. “That’s where I really learned to produce movies. Gale is a tough one, but she’s fair and a wonderful person. If you did the work she really respected you.”

Yet Gale still wasn’t doing the kind of work he truly wanted to be doing. Then, in 1995, MTV called. They were looking for someone to run their new feature film division. The first film on the docket was “Beavis and Butt-Head Do America.”

Gale remembered, “I loved it so I stayed there, running MTV Films, for 11 years.” His work included such cult classic hits as “Election,” “Varsity Blues” (with Tova Laiter), “Jackass: The Movie,” and “Pootie Tang.”

Laiter wanted to know, what was the philosophy behind MTV Films’ and Gale’s success?

Gale’s response: “When you have a great brand and you’re trying to make movies, or anything really, you can depend on that brand to help you understand and define what it is you want to make.”

Gale did this by keeping the budget low and by hiring great independent voices. “Murderball,” Tupac documentaries, and indie voices helped define a youth-centered brand for the early 2000’s. When he had the idea to buy a manuscript called “Twilight” and the studio passed, “Everyone thought I was crazy,” Gale said. He then decided it was time to move on.

His boss gave him a new division as head of digital at MTV. In 2006, this move put Gale at the forefront of the next wave of media entertainment. Facebook and YouTube were brand new players on the scene. The rules for digital marketing, development, and content had not yet been created.

While MTV ultimately elected not to go full blast into the digital world, they gave Gale the freedom to experiment and learn.

After 18 years at MTV, Gale was looking for something new, only this time he wasn’t sure what the next step would be. So he quit. A few days later, someone sent him a video that led to the creation of We Are The Mighty, a digital media company focused on engaging the United States military community.

“Somebody sent me a music video of a band I’d never heard of,” Gale recalled. “What was cool about it was it was all veterans in the band, and they had 150 million views on YouTube.”

A couple of days later Gale received a documentary about five severely disabled veterans who were doing standup, called “Comedy Warriors.” He had a thought: “The military is a big giant audience and no one is serving it.”

His second thought was, “Whatever I’m doing next I want to be positive in some way. Could I combine my skill set of 30 years and put that to work with a company that could make a difference?”

Over the next year, Gale invested all of his time and energy into learning about the military and the lives of those who serve. What he learned is that one-third of Americans are directly or indirectly related to the military. Gale found that there were some entertainment companies with a military focus, “But without military personnel behind the camera it’s not going to be authentic. The entertainment industry says we have a lot of jobs for veterans — you can work in the mailroom or as an electrician. But we’re missing the creativity.”

“There’s a lot of leadership skills not being put to use,” Gale commented. “The level of maturity, the ability to make decisions and adjust is so much higher than a 30-year-old who has been getting copy and delivering scripts for the past 10 years.”

So Gale co-founded and is now CEO of We Are The Mighty. This organization hires veterans to create content and then helps pitch and launch the content on different platforms. There’s an internship program that turns young creators into professional filmmakers. He’s also partnered with Medal of Honor recipient and Chair of NYFA’s Veterans Advancement Program Colonel Jack Jacobs to shoot a documentary about the first 10 weeks of basic training.

NYFA student and U.S. Marine Corps veteran Drew Demboske asked, “What was the biggest obstacle you faced when starting your company, besides funding?” Gale suggested: just creating something. Once you’ve begun, you tweak, observe changes in viewer consumption, and keep up with those changes that happen every day.

The New York Film Academy would like to thank Mr. David Gale for taking the time to speak with our students. Check out We Are The Mighty online by clicking here.

Renowned Japanese Artist Tatsuteru Kimijima Visits NYFA New York

This October, the famed Japanese artist Tatsuteru Kimijima brought a group of Japanese students on a visit to the New York City campus of the New York Film Academy (NYFA).

Tatsuteru Kimijima visits NYFA New York campus with students

To the delight of NYFA’s leadership, Mr. Kimijima, a true living legend in the art of Japanese woodcut, announced that he has dedicated NYFA as a major collaborator of his recent exhibitions held in New York at the Flusso Gallery.

“We feel privileged to be associated with this great man of honor and talent,” stated NYFA Executive Vice President David Klein.

Tatsuteru Kimijima with (l) NYFA Senior Executive V.P. David Klein and V.P. Strategic Initiatives Jim Miller

Mr. Kimijima is credited in the Guinness Book of World Records has having made the largest-ever woodblock print. That print is titled “Banga-Cosmo 242.”

Mr. Kimijima’s record-holding work measures a remarkable 400.73 m² (4313.4 ft²), and was completed by the master in November 2014 after four years of work in Hiroshima, Japan.

The artist has moved to Hiroshima to spread the message of world peace through his work.

NYFA Broadcast Journalism School Updates Oct. 30

Reuters is a leading international news agency. They have been supplying news worldwide for decades. So when some of their subscribers told them they needed multiple, live video streams, MediaShift reports Reuters developed a product to meet this need.

Perhaps that’s not surprising, until you consider the subscribers are newspaper publishers. Today newspapers live online, and one of the most watched categories of online content is live video. Newspapers are now in the TV business…

Speaking of turning conventional wisdom on its head, traditionally “viewers” don’t get to see news stories until they are “broadcast.” But the BBC is experimenting with an app called Hearken that encourages “crowd-powered” journalism. Users are encouraged to comment on stories during the “pitch” process, as stories are being commissioned, as well as throughout the reporting process. You can even submit story ideas.

And while this is still in the testing phase, it does represent a fundamental shift in journalism. The process is interactive and collaborative, but how do you maintain journalistic integrity if “trolls” decide to game the system?

In a somewhat related development, the Tow Center for Digital Journalism reports online news audiences want — among other things — transparency in reporting. In other words, they no longer take for granted that news publishers are impartial and authoritative. They want to better understand just who publisher is, and how they gather stories, as well as the vetting process those stories go through. This too is a major change, inasmuch the veracity of news publishers was once taken for granted. No more…

How good is the NYFA Broadcast Journalism program? So good that ABC-affiliated station WTNH/TV8 in New Haven, Connecticut now features two NYFA graduates…

Last week, award-winning journalist George Colli took over as lead reporter on the News8 Investigative Team. Most recently, George was the Washington, DC-based correspondent for Cox Media, appearing on Cox stations across the United States. Prior to that, he reported for NBC-Connecticut. George is a graduate of NYFA’s 1-Year Broadcast Journalism Conservatory program.

Alyssa Taglia is the traffic anchor and a multimedia journalist (MMJ) for “Good Morning CT” at WTNH. A former Miss Connecticut, Alyssa graduated from NYFA’s 8-Week Broadcast Journalism Workshop this past August.

Congratulations to our talented, and successful, grads!

NYFA attends Cartoon Network’s “25 Years of Drawing on Creativity”

On Saturday, October 14th, 2017 Cartoon Network opened a gallery of stills from some of their most popular shows at the Paley Center for Media, in Beverly Hills. “25 Years of Drawing on Creativity” gallery featured images of some of the network’s best shows.

New York Film Academy student Tiffany Victor attended an early press viewing of the exhibit. “Incredible,” is the word she used to describe the two floors of photography, sketches, sculptures, and interactive art installations.

Rebecca Sugar’s “Steven Universe” took the first floor. The walls were lined with early character designs of the three aunts, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. There was even a visual layout describing the musical instruments that define each character. Many fans were excited to see some of their favorite ships (the romantic pairing of characters on the show) drawn by Sugar herself.

NYFA attends "25 Years of Drawing on Creativity" | Cartoon Network — Photo by Imeh Bryant/The Paley Center

Upstairs, “OK KO!” and “The PowerPuff Girls” had life-size statues of the main characters from the show on display. There was even a model of the girls’ Townsville home. The walls were lined with artist’s interpretations of themselves as PowerPuff girls. On the opposite wall were dramatic photographs of the claymation episode of Adventure Time! The exhibit even included several of the faces used to animate the character of Finn.

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Also included in the exhibit were interactive games and videos. Victor was able to play one of the “Ben 10” games on an iPad. Face-tracking software followed her face and turned her into one of the aliens from the show.

The interactive and eye-opening experience is a fun way to spend an afternoon. This weekend, Tiffany Victor will be going back to the Paley Center to hear Rebecca Sugar and other show creators discuss their process and the upcoming seasons of their shows.

The New York Film Academy would like to thank Cartoon Network for giving us a sneak peek at this incredible exhibit and photographer Imeh Bryant of The Paley Center for providing us with the photos used for this article. “25 Years of Drawing on Creativity” runs through October 22nd, 2017 at the Paley Center for Media.